After all the paperwork was done, Sister Wang and her family quickly organized their belongings and got ready to move out. When Cheng Su arrived at the small courtyard, a truck was parked outside, and Brother Wang was boarding it with a slight limp in his leg—it was time for Cheng Su to take over.
Sure enough, after the keys were exchanged and the date for the remaining ten yuan to be paid was set, Sister Wang led Brother Wang and their belongings away.
Cheng Su was very excited. She walked around the restaurant inside and out, cleaning up and putting everything in order.
The restaurant had only one room with a loft for accommodation and rest, a kitchen, and a courtyard with a sink installed, making washing very convenient. There was also a large apricot tree alongside. In the scorching heat, it was much cooler to drag a chair under the tree and enjoy the shade than to stay inside the room.
After tidying up, Cheng Su planned to head to the market to start her business as soon as possible.
Just as she was about to leave, someone was peeping at the entrance. Upon seeing Cheng Su, they retracted their head before peeking out again.
"Hey, who are you looking for?" Cheng Su called out to her.
It was a middle-aged woman with slightly dark skin, a plump body, short hair, and small eyes that looked nearly squeezed shut by her chubby face.
"Young lady, who are you, and where’s Old Wang and his family?" the middle-aged woman asked.
"They have moved back to their hometown, and now I have taken over this restaurant. My surname is Cheng," Cheng Su explained.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman’s eyes widened, and she asked, "You’ve taken over? For how much?"
Cheng Su smiled and did not answer.
"Look here, young lady, you seem quite new to me. Do you know what happened to Old Man Wang’s family and why they were so eager to transfer this restaurant? You’ve been fooled!" the middle-aged woman said with some urgency.
Cheng Su was surprised and asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"
"You just took it without asking around. The feng shui of this restaurant is no good. Take Old Wang for example; he was just going out to buy some vegetables and still got hit by a car. Otherwise, why would his leg be lame? And his wife, a good-hearted sister, was just resting in this courtyard and got a tree branch in the eye. She was treated for a month and almost went blind. Tell me, isn’t that strange? Isn’t it because of bad feng shui?" the middle-aged woman said, pretending to be horrified.
Without waiting for Cheng Su to reply, she continued, "One thing after another keeps happening, and the restaurant’s business has never picked up. Now, how unlucky is that? You’re a young woman, where did you get the courage to rent this courtyard?"
So that was the reason.
Cheng Su couldn’t help but laugh. People are so full of concerns, regarding anything resembling a haunted house with sheer horror.
But speaking of Old Wang, he was hit by the truck and flung five meters yet only got a limp. If you ask me, that should be considered extremely lucky.
"Brother Wang survived a great disaster; that’s a sign of great fortune. Wouldn’t you say so, Sister?" said Cheng Su with a dismissive smile.
The woman looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "That may be true, but after all, there was an accident."
Inwardly, she was seething with resentment. Sister Wang from the Wang Family had been calculatively merciless, refusing to reduce the price by even one yuan. If not for that, she would have been the one to take over the restaurant. Now someone else had beat her to it, and it galled her!
"Even after an accident, to survive without greater harm is to have future blessings. I’d like to share in that good fortune," said Cheng Su with a smile. "Thank you for your concern, Sister."
As things stood, there was nothing more the middle-aged woman could say. She managed a forced smile and said, "Well then, I wish you the best of luck!"
Cheng Su watched her leave with a smile, thinking to herself that she didn’t care about good or bad luck. People say destiny is thirty percent fated and seventy percent made by one’s own efforts. She didn’t believe that she couldn’t forge her own path in this era after having succeeded in the highly competitive 21st century. Would she really be going backward living in this time?
No matter if it’s fortune or misfortune, my fate is in my own hands!